Day 652: “How great Thou art” - Genesis 1 vs 6 - 8

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse [canopy] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made [fashioned] the expanse and  separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven [sky]. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. Genesis 1:6-8 English Standard Version

Ever since I was young I've been fascinated by clouds and their amazing formations. And an interesting fact David Watson makes in his book 'Myths and Miracles' is that it's computed that there are some 45,000 thunderstorms daily somewhere in the world, and each thundercloud carries about 100,000 tons of water! Think of that. Tons and tons of water in the air above us. That surely is one of the ongoing results of what we read in vs 6-8 today. God fashioned an expanse with waters below and waters above.

This expanse that God fashioned is what we refer to as the atmosphere. It's the region in which all the creatures He was about to create would move and breathe and have their existence. And from what we can tell, there is no other atmosphere in the universe quite like it. There is a view held by many scientists that, before the flood in Noah's generation, there was a 'canopy' of water above the earth which filtered the sun's rays more effectively than our present atmosphere does and which gave a semi tropical climate to every part of the globe.

I'm not the only one who was fascinated by clouds and the rains that fall from the heavens. David Watson mentions how in the Old Testament book called Job, God directed Job to consider this aspect of His creative works. We read there that: “God understands the way to wisdom and He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When He gave weight and pressure to the wind, and allotted the waters by measure; when He made a limit for the rain and a way for the thunderbolt, then He saw wisdom and declared it; He established it and searched it out.” (Job 28:23-27 Amplified Bible)

Who would have known that the air has weight – and that one day mankind would design an instrument called a barometer to measure that weight?

And then in Job 37 we read: “God loads the thick cloud with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning. Its direction is turned around by His guidance, that it may do whatever He commands it on the face of the inhabited earth. Listen to this, Job; stand still and consider the wonders of God! Do you know how God establishes and commands them, and makes the lightning of His [storm] cloud shine? Do you know about the layers of thick clouds, how they are balanced and poised in the heavens, the wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?  You whose garments are hot, when He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind? Can you, with Him, spread out the sky, strong as a molten mirror?” Job 37:11-18 (Amplified Bible)

This expanse above us that God ‘spread out’ need not be limited to the atmosphere of the earth. The Hebrew word for 'heaven' or 'sky' can evidently refer to more than one location. It can be the place where we see birds winging their way through the heavens, or the place where “God set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19 :4-6) So Psalm 19:1 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above (the expanse) proclaims His handiwork.” May we ever be the sort of person who considers the works of God's hands 'with awesome wonder', and who responds in praise with grateful heart, 'My God how great Thou art!’